Regarding the editorial "The best route to fixed roads" (Feb. 20): Portland's roads need work, but making bicycle lanes the scapegoat is counterproductive and contradicts The Oregonian's own reporting.

In 2011, PolitiFact Oregon corroborated the mayor's claim that the cost of all bicycle infrastructure was about $60 million, which is about 1 percent of the current value of paved roadways in Portland ($5 billion). Eliminating bicycle spending (a fraction of the transportation budget) wouldn't noticeably boost maintenance; indeed, it would make the problem worse.

Every time someone bikes instead of drives, it spares road wear. And because taxes and fees paid by drivers account for a small portion of the Transportation Bureau's revenue, people who drive less are subsidizing others.

The editorial board's assertion that automobiles are an "enduring preference" also missed the mark. Surveys indicate that many Portlanders would bicycle more if they had better and safer routes.

Bicycles are not the cause of potholes; they are part of the solution.

ANDREW HOLTZ Southwest Portland

Everywhere I look, the streets are being torn up for one reason or another -- new gas lines, new water pipes, new sewers, etc. But when those utilities have finished, they typically leave the condition of the street in much worse shape than it was in before.

Two questions: Why can't the patch jobs be done better? And who is responsible for paying for the eventual repaving needed after the utility work?

DICK SLAWSON Northeast Portland

Congratulations, Sam Adams. You have left the city of Portland with unnecessary bike updates, safety lanes, paths and even arrows to show bikers which directions to ride.

But our streets, which most Portlanders use to drive cars, have suffered to the point that it will cost millions to repair them. It already costs drivers money to repair their cars after driving on city streets.

Thanks again, Sam Adams. Once again the taxpayers take a hit.

JUDY YOST Northeast Portland

Portland Mayor Charlie Hales is proposing a transportation strategy and suggests new revenues to get the roads back in order ("Hales will strategize on road maintenance," Feb. 20).

Wouldn't it be refreshing if he allowed a public/private partnership to work on our crumbling infrastructure and allow the market to work for our benefit instead of immediately going to the default mechanism of raising taxes?

TRACY CLARK Southwest Portland

Given that Portland's Transportation Bureau seems to make everything but fixing our roads a higher priority, I have a suggestion:

Let's take some of the paint used to spread bicycle markings all over our roads and use it to paint circles around our potholes.

If you aren't going to fix them, at least give me some warning as to where they are.

JOHN FRASER Northeast Portland

Solar power

As Molly Young pointed out in her Feb. 17 article ("Big cloud over solar panel firm in Portland"), the U.S. solar industry has been going through a period of significant consolidation as competition has driven the price of traditional solar modules down rapidly.

At SoloPower, we anticipated these possible challenges early on and planned for a low-cost environment by refining our strategy accordingly. In particular, we designed a uniquely lightweight and flexible solar module to serve a market with strong growth potential -- commercial and industrial rooftops that traditional solar panels cannot serve because of their weight and rigidity.

We are working hard on our current production ramp-up and expect to ship several new orders soon. As we do so, we're also taking every functional step to manage our costs and stay ahead of market conditions to effectively position the company for long-term success.

Our objective remains to create an American manufacturing success story, and we truly appreciate the support of the people of Oregon in helping us make that a reality.

ROB CAMPBELL Campbell is senior vice president for global sales at SoloPower.

Clean fuels

Kudos to state Sen. Lee Beyer for his Feb. 18 op-ed ("We should be putting fuels to work for Oregon") in support of making the Clean Fuels Program drive innovation and job growth in Oregon.

What Beyer understands is that protecting the environment is good for business. In the long run, this program will help shrink consumers' overall fuel bills and protect against price spikes, while protecting air quality and creating local jobs.

Inevitably, we will hear a long list of reasons why rewarding the producers of clean alternatives to oil is a bad idea. And equally inevitably, the opposition can be traced to an obvious source: the oil industry, which is bound and determined to keep us dependent on its product. Don't be fooled.

Our state is already a hub for clean technology companies, and this program will keep money and jobs in our communities, rather than exporting them to other states or countries.

CHRIS DENNETT North Portland Dennett is director of the Pacific Northwest chapter of Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2).

Auto emissions

I hope that many readers will take the time to urge their state legislators to work for the passage of state Sen. Chuck Thomsen's Senate Bill 212, which would do away with mandatory vehicle emissions testing in the Portland and Medford areas ("Auto emissions," Feb. 21).

As Thomsen says, these tests are no longer needed because most of the cars on the road easily meet emissions requirements. Eliminating the inspection stations would relieve us of an unneeded bureaucracy and save motorists an unnecessary expense. We definitely need to follow the lead of Washington, which is phasing out its own emissions testing program.

It would be interesting to see some statistics from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality showing what percentage of cars tested actually fail the test.